Solid and Reliable.
We use MSSQL Server along with SSIS and SSRS as it's a very competent software suite and very stable. It integrates well with other …
Starting at $1,418 Per License
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What is Microsoft SQL Server?
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.
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Subscription
$1,418.00
Cloud
Per License
Enterprise
$13,748.00
Cloud
Per License
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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An Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server's Statistics
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Introduction to Transact SQLÂ (T-SQL) using Microsoft SQL Server
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What is Microsoft SQL Server?
Microsoft SQL Server Video
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Microsoft SQL Server Integrations
Microsoft SQL Server Technical Details
| Deployment Types | Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.
Reviewers rate Usability highest, with a score of 9.9.
The most common users of Microsoft SQL Server are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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(1611)Attribute Ratings
Reviews
(1-4 of 4)Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
February 27, 2016
Happy SQL Server user since version 1.11 on OS/2 1.21
SQL Server is being used across the entire organization in my previous company, along with Oracle. It's being used for our POS system, our website, and dozens of internal applications. It's very easy to install and configure so we can rapidly deploy it for new applications. It can also be considerably cheaper than Oracle.
- It's very easy to automate the install so we have a website set up where an application team can go and within a few mouse clicks, they've requested a new VM with SQL Server installed on it. The VM itself can take a day or two to deployment because it's not fully automated yet, but SQL Server is automatically installed within an hour or two.
- All the different wizards within SQL Server Management Studio make it relatively easy for non DBAs to perform many tasks, thus making self-service possible in many instances.
- The Always On Availability Group feature makes both High Availability and Disaster Recovery much easier to plan and implement, especially with SQL Server 2014's multiple secondaries.
- The Database Tuning Advisor can also help relative novices tune their queries for better performance, though it can still recommend way too many indexes be created.
- SQL Server needs something to compare/compete with Oracle's RAC. When is that coming, Microsoft?
- I don't care for the evolution of its pricing model. SQL Server used to be a no-brainer when compared to other products on price but that's not the case anymore.
- We can implement projects on SQL Server much faster than we can on any other platform. That's partly due to how quickly we can deploy it but also how easy it is to administer.
- We can also administer far more SQL Servers per DBA than any other database platform we have in house. Oracle tends to be particularly hands-on in our environment.
We select databases based on what vendor applications support, our in-house expertise, and price. SQL Server tends to win all of those comparisons.
We use SQL Server for many, many different business functions at our company from POS to store design, to our website, to SharePoint, to market research, to recipe development, to the lawyers...
6
You need to be detail oriented for production support and for the rollouts of new functionality from development to production but you also need to be interested in learning new things if you're going to be able to keep up with the changes and explain them to application teams, i.e. where new functionality is applicable to the work they're performing.
- We run our POS system on SQL Server.
- We run our website on SQL Server.
- We run our SharePoint instances on SQL Server.
- We plan to use in-memory tables to speed up our website soon.
Not Sure
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Existing Relationship with the Vendor
The SQL Server DBA team is very familiar with SQL Server so we have a lot of in-house experience with it. The Oracle DBA team has lots of experience with Oracle. So a lot of it is down to price, what the application teams are familiar with, and what the vendor application was developed on.
I wouldn't change anything.
- Implemented in-house
Yes
We have test, dev, cert, and prod environments, at least, and we prove things out before moving along to the next stage.
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled
- Getting the various machines talking to each other because of the way the network has been partitioned and firewalled.
- Network performance has also caused problems.
Yes
A problem with SQL Server can have a huge monetary impact to the company so problems need to be resolved very quickly.
Yes
no, it was marked as won't fix
- Setting up AlwaysOn Availability groups is easy once the Windows Shared-nothing cluster is set up and working.
- Using the Database Tuning Advisor is remarkably easy, even if interpreting the results properly requires a lot of knowledge.
- Installing and configured MDW is quite easy, even if making use of the information it captures can require a lot of knowledge.
- Configuring Merge Replication and keeping it working can be a handful.
- Troubleshooting performance issues can be a real handful. It does require a lot of knowledge.
No
February 23, 2016
The giant RDBMS by Microsoft
I use SQL Server for 7 years.
I currently work in the Database Administrators department, we mainly use SQL every day. We use SQL for various needs, some examples: the management of corporate databases, for ETL processes (extract, transform, load) for data warehousing, data historicizing, reporting, OLAP cubes, dashboards, maintenance plans, monitoring and alert, the management of integration services packages and more.
- Management of very large volumes of data such as bulk loading
- Is one of the best (if not the best) relational database
- It brings you great ETL tools and data warehousing such as SSIS and SSAS
- Data indexing
- The management of VLDB (Very Large Databases) requires a lot of maintenance and preventive work to avoid falling into uncomfortable issues.
- The introduction of In-Memory (sql 2014) has opened up new prospects but still has many limitations (data types, functions and various restrictions)
- Table partitioning is as useful as awkward to handle.
- Data always accessible and available
- data history and previous analyzes (even many years back)
- development and maintenance of the data warehouse directly in-house
I started working with databases many years ago with Access, which allows you to create relational database and provide an old-fashioned desktop interface. I had a look at Oracle but I never had the opportunity to get to the bottom (also because of the budget that had the company where I worked at the time). SQL is an enterprise solution that allows professional management of DBs and DWHs in maximum safety and allows it to be applied in countless situations.
50
It is not easy to determine how many resources actually uses sql server, this because the use of sql server is of various kinds, from those who simply makes queries via the sql management studio, who uses the various business reports or dashboards, users of the sites, up to our DBAs department that directly manages the databases and data warehouses.
4
To use SQL Server are required detailed knowledge of relational databases, data warehousing concepts, notions and management of ETL (if you intend to use a corporate data warehouse), maintenance of databases, data management, data quality, high reliability of the data, indexing, queries optimization, management of a large amount of data and more.
- Data management
- Reporting and Dashboard
- ETL
- High Availability
- Datawarehouse
- transactions management
- Datawarehousing
- OLAP
- IN-memory OLTP
No
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Analyst Reports
I personally have not taken the decision to use SQL Server, but the reason why I specialized in SQL systems is because I think it definitely one of the best RDBMS in circulation, the support is great as well as his strength and for his great effectiveness, is chosen to secure by many companies to these factors and results.
If I had to choose whether to use an RDBMS the first question that I would do it if I really need a SQL db oriented or if I could draw benefit from a no-sql db, if my need is to have an RDBMS, the only choice that I should make is between Oracle and SQL, due to my experience in SQL would repeat this choice, if I'll have the opportunity to deepen Oracle will also evaluate this hypothesis (prices permitting) .
- Implemented in-house
No
Change management was minimal
Has no organizational change management needed.
However, if you are thinking of definitely migrate your data structure on sql server, you have to do several observations , you need to plan in detail every single operation, each database step by step and evaluate all the compatibility between your structure and the version of SQL on which you will migrate. This definitely requires a lot of time and tests.
- No issues
No
Fortunately we do not need premium or paid support because, fortunately for us, our team is well mixed and every time there is a problem to solve, we trying to reach a solution as soon as possible in the most constructive way possible by sharing the experiences and our know-how.
No
As I said before, fortunately it has never been necessary to seek assistance from Microsoft support regarding SQL Server, many of the answers you seek are on the MSDN Microsoft, alternatively you can open a ticket with microsoft and in the short term you will have solution to your problem .
Very useful are the Unleashed books (in your sql version) that have all the basics you need to manage sql servers.
- Always-On
- Availability Groups
- Jobs with SSIS packages integration
- Managing VLDB
- Table Partitioning
No
February 16, 2016
MS SQL server
It is used across the whole organization to build analytical tools for the business users to best analyze the sales data.
- Sql Server Integration services is a a great tool for ETL needs
- SQL Server Analysis Services is a great tool to build data marts and data cubes.
- SQL Server Reporting Services is a great reporting tool.
- SQL server installation always takes long time, that can be definitely improved.
- The Management Studio front end still needs work as does Indexing.
- Few in SSIS Realtime data refresh in SSRS More datasources in Power BI
- It is definitely one of the best tools available for all the database needs
- It is easier to install and easy to get on with.
- Consistent and reliable.
MS SQL server is the best database management tool available and it has been improving every year addressing the needs for ever growing data.
50
Sales
15
Tsql, Admininstration Skills,SSIS,SSRS,SSAS
- DataWarehouse
- Data Analytics
- Data Reports
- C# and VB.net coding and scheduling them
- Web Service calls
- DataBase transfer
- Make use of cloud technology with SQl Server 2016
- DataStorage space is increased a lot because of sql server 2016
Yes
MS Access... MS Access wouldn't support huge volumes of data like Sql Server does.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Vendor Reputation
Product Usability
Not many changes
- Implemented in-house
Yes
SSMS,SSIS,SSAS
- Server compatability issues
- Online training
- In-person training
- Self-taught
Yes, easy to pick up
Hardware requirements have to be met, make sure RAM is available
No - there is no facility to customize the interface
Some - we have added small pieces of custom code
we can use VB.net code or C# code and its easy to implement.
Use add on tools like red gate
No
It is not my decision.
No
The issue was with MDS and MS support helped with excel plugins.
- SQL Server Management studio is easy to understand
- SQL server reports are easy to build
- Running queries and retrieving data and moving it to excel is easy
- Analysis services may be complex to start with
- Integration Services to an extent
- MDX queries
Yes, but I don't use it
- MS Excel
- SharePoint
- Cognos
Its is easy to implement
- Hadoop
no
- File import/export
- API (e.g. SOAP or REST)
- Javascript widgets
- ETL tools
Cognos reporting tools
Check the compatability
Installation ,support
little bit of patience needed while dealing with support teams
Yes
Integration services may take a little longer
- Query execution times
- New functionality available
- Data Storage space
- Cloud technology
- Improved Reporting services interface
- New additions to analysis services
Yes
All the features are not available in free editions
Yes
Advanced features in enterprise editions.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use SQL Server for numerous purposes - Line of Business applications, ERP, Sharepoint, Reporting, and Analytics. It is tightly integrated with other systems used throughout the worldwide organization utilizing various tools to provide that integration (Integration Services, linked servers, etc.)
- Installing and administering a SQL Server instance is one key area that I've found very compelling when using this solution. If you are a power user, you can do many administration tasks via the command line. The visual tools are very good as well.
- Development on the SQL Server platform is another area that I have found to be extremely flexible, powerful, and easy to manage code. It also integrates nicely with source control so you can keep track of changes.
- Performance - While this is a debatable topic, it has performed really well with the type of business applications that we've developed in-house as well as packaged solutions (ERP, etc.). I especially like how you can partition data across multiple drives to increase performance even more. The key idea (as with any solution) is how it is architected within your environment to best suit your requirements.
- One area that I'd like to see improve is it's monitoring toolset. While the built-in tools are good, I've found better 3rd party solutions that do a better job in this area (Embarcadero in particular).
- Another area is backups. The out-of-box solution is good for small-to-medium sized databases. When your data gets large (gigabtyte/terabyte), then being able to have a robust backup solution with compression becomes critical.
- Needs better out-of-box analytics and reporting tools. Again, the tools included in the SQL server package are good, but I find that we have to do a lot of workarounds to get these to work the way we need them to. However, for the most part, Reporting Services and Analysis Services are good toolset to quickly produce reports that would otherwise be too cumbersome with other tools on the market.
- Integration Services is ok for the most part, but it lacks that Enterprise class level of robustness of an effective ETL tool.
- Microsoft SQL Server has made an extremely positive impact on our organization. It was been running our core business for well over 20 years (starting with SQL Server 6.5, and now on SQL Server 2012), so the ROI has been huge!
- Our administrators and developers have been accustomed to this technology, so the learning curve from version to version has been very little.
We've evaluated a number of database platforms, including Oracle, MySQL, Interbase/Firebird, and MongoDB. While there are similarities in each of the platforms, one key difference is the tools included to administer and develop against the platform. We found that Microsoft SQL Server, hands down, to be the easiest and more robust toolset and have entrusted our organization with this technology.
Yes
We had an Oracle instance that was at the heart of our operations. It held master data as well as details behind many of the products sold through our offering. We ended up replacing Oracle with SQL Server due to two main reasons. Cost and technical expertise. At the time, the cost model was based on a per processor license and was really expensive. The expertise needed to administer and develop against the platform was much greater than was expected, hence the switch to SQL Server.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
- Vendor Reputation
Ease of use. Microsoft SQL Server is much easier to deploy, manage, and maintain in a world wide organization than other platforms that we evaluated and used. We took our in-house expertise with Microsoft technology and leveraged that to deploy solutions created on this platform. To this day, it is one of the smartest moves we've made.
If we had to do this again, we would definitely utilize recommendations provided by sites like TrustRadius to assist in the evaluation and selection process. With so many choices out there on the market, it is very difficult to narrow down your selection because of the skilled way that products are being demonstrated and sold. It is through trusted recommendations where you can be assured that you are making a good choice for your organization.
Yes
Yes, we pay for premium support if it is absolutely necessary for us to escalate the issue at this level. We have done so on a couple of occasions where it was mission critical to resolve the issue quickly and efficiently. Microsoft provided a wealth of resources on the case and got the job done.
No
We had a case where we had corruption state in one of our Sharepoint instances. We had the Microsoft support team on calls for roughly a day to troubleshoot the issue. They provided various levels of expertise (Sharepoint, SQL Server, Network Administration, etc.) so that we can isolate the issue and get it resolved. At the end of the day, while everyone was exhausted, it was a great overall experience that should be mentioned.
- Information gathering through SQL Server Management Studio
- Simple import/export of data utilizing Integration Services
- Creating and publishing reports using Reporting Services
- Complex ETL processes
- Querying Analysis Services data
- Accessibility of the data for mobile devices
No